Minister Humphreys announces the Commencement of the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019

Dublin, Ireland, 02 December 2019 The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys T.D., has signed the Commencement Order that will bring the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019 into operation from Monday, 2 December 2019.

 

The purpose of the Act is to modernise the copyright regime in Ireland by making better provision for copyright and other intellectual property (IP) protection in the digital era and to enable rightholders to better enforce their IP rights in the courts.  The Act makes a number of changes including:

 

  • renaming the “Patents Office” to the “Intellectual Property Office of Ireland”. This amendment better reflects the role of “the Office”, which is in line with the more standardised naming convention for such offices across the EU;
  • allowing owners of intellectual property to pursue lower value IP infringement claims in the District and Circuit Courts which may result in a reduction in litigation costs; 
  • making it easier for researchers to use text and data mining tools by expanding the current exception.

 

Welcoming the commencement of the Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019, Minister Humphreys said: “This important piece of legislation marks the conclusion of a process of modernising copyright legislation, which was initiated in 2011.”

 

Minister Halligan added that “as Minister with responsibility for Ireland’s intellectual property regulatory regime I was happy to play an integral part in bringing this legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Minister further added that “the provisions contained in the Act will be of particular interest to those engaged in scientific and other research, those involved in education and training and will enhance Ireland’s reputation for the protection of intellectual property.”

The Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019 was signed into law by the President on 26 June 2019 and is available on the Irish Statute Book (www.irishstatutebook.ie).

 

The Copyright and Other Intellectual Property Law Provisions Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2019 will be made available on www.dbei.gov.ie in the coming days.